NCM 104 – COPAR (Community Organizing
Participatory Action Research)
 Social development approach
1. Apathetic
2. Individualistic
3. Voiceless
4. Dynamic
5. Participative
6. Politically
 Identify needs
 Develop confidence
 Cooperative and Collaborative
 In educating the people:
1. Continuous
2. Sustained
3. Process
 Principles of COPAR
- People, especially the most oppressed,
exploited, and deprived sectors are
open to change, have the capacity to
change, and can bring about change.
- COPAR should be based on the
interests of the poorest sectors of
society.
- COPAR should lead to a self-reliant
community and society.
 Processes and Methods
- Progressive cycle is ACTION-
REFLECTION-ACTION
- Consciousness-raising
- Participatory and mass-based
- Group-centered and not leader-oriented
 Phases of the COPAR process
1. Pre-entry Phase
- Initial phase where the community
organizer (CO) looks for a community to
serve/help
- Simplest phase in terms of actual
output, activities, strategies, and time
spent
- Specific activities include:
 Designing a plan for community
development
 Design a criterion for the
selection of the site
 Actual site selection
2. Entry Phase
- Also called the SOCIAL PREPARATION
PHASE
- Signals the actual entry of the CO into
the community
- CO must be guided by the following:
 Courtesy call to recognize the
role of local authorities
 Appearance, speech, behavior,
and lifestyle should be in
keeping with those of the
community residents without
disregard for their being role
models
 Avoid raising consciousness of
the community residents
 Adopt a low-key profile
3. Organization-building Phase
- Formation of more formal structures
- Inclusion of more formal procedures of
planning, implementing, and evaluating
community-wide activities
- Organized group leaders of are given
trainings to manage their own
concerns/programs
4. Sustenance and Strengthening
Phase
- A community organization has already
been established and the community
members are actively participating
- Different committee’s set-up in the
previous phase are expected to function
with the overall guidance of the CO
- Strategies used may include:
 Education and training
 Networking and linkaging
 Conduct mobilization on health
and development concerns
 Implementation of livelihood
projects
 Developing secondary leaders
5. Phase out
- Leaves the community to stand alone
- Stated during the entry phase
- Activities:
 Leaving the immersion site
 Documentation
 Critical Steps in Building People’s
Organization
1. Integration
- CO becoming one with the people to:
 Immerse himself in the
community
 Understand deeply the culture,
economy, leaders, history,
rhythms and lifestyle of the
community
- Methods of integration include:
 Participation in the activities of
the people
 House-to-house visits
 Conversation with people where
they usually gather
 Helping in chores
2. Social Investigation
- Also known as COMMUNITY STUDY
- Systematic process of collection,
collating, and analyzing data to draw a
clear picture of the community
  Recorder/Documenter/Reporter -
Role/activity in Community Health Care
- Pointers for the conduct of social
Development
investigation:
- Community worker:
 Use of survey questionnaires
 Keeps a written account of services
are discouraged
rendered, observations, conditions,
 Community leaders can be
needs, problems, and attitudes of
trained to assist CO in doing SI
the clientele
 Can be more effectively and
 Takes responsibility to disseminate
efficiently collected through
pertinent information to appropriate
informal methods
authorities, agencies, and most
 Secondary data should be
especially to the clientele
thoroughly examined
 Develops people’s capabilities to
 SI is facilitated if CO is properly
keep/maintain their own recording
integrated and has acquired the
or reporting system.
people’s trust
- Records - Refers to forms on which
 Confirmation and validation of
information pertaining the client is noted
data is done regularly
- Reports - Refers to periodic summaries
3. Tentative program planning
of the services/activities of an
- CO to choose one issue to work on in
organization/unit, The analysis of certain
order to begin organizing the people
phases of its work
4. Groundwork
 Purposes of Records and Reports:
- Going around and motivating the people
1. Measure service/program directed
on a one-on-one basis
to the clients
5. The meeting
2. Provide basis for future planning
- People collectively ratifying what they
3. Interpret the work to the public and
have already decided individually
other agencies, community
- Gives people the collective power and
4. Aid in studying the condition of the
confidence
community
6. Role Play
5. Contribute to client care
- Act out the meeting that will take place
 Principles of Effective and Useful
between the leaders of the community
and the government representatives Reports
7. Mobilization or action - Reports are of the most interest value
- Actual experience of the people in when they are arranged so that
confronting the powerful and the actual comparison may be made between
exercise of people power successive periods of time
8. Evaluation - Reports are of value only when the
- People reviewing steps 1-7 to determine items included carry common meaning
the success of their objectives to all who make use of them
9. Reflection - Reports are more read or received when
- Dealing with deeper, on-going concerns presented in an interesting manner
to look at the positive values CO is
trying to build in the organization
- Reflect on the stark reality of life
compared to the ideal
10. Organization
- The result of many successive and
similar actions of the people
- Final structure is set up with elected
officers and supporting members